Group Drills: Unbounded Clinics, One-Sided Scoring & Modifiers
A clinic format with unbounded capacity, incremental schedule updates for late arrivals, one-sided scoring, and custom drill modifiers.
Group Drill (Event Type 35) is designed for clinics, coaching sessions, and skill practices. Unlike competitive round robins with fixed seat counts, group drills support flexible attendance, one-sided player scoring, and custom gameplay modifiers.
Format Architecture
Group drills operate on distinct operational principles compared to match-based events:
- Unbounded Roster (
num_players = 0): There is no fixed player limit. Any number of players can register, check in, or join after the clinic begins. - No Matchup Pairs: Players never pair into teams. Each participant receives an individual schedule row in Round 1 on Court 1.
- Excluded from Rating Volatility: Group drill scores do not alter player Elo ratings or competitive handicap calculations.
Incremental Scheduling for Late Arrivals
In standard round robins, schedules are fixed at event start. Group drills use incremental, idempotent schedule generation:
- Adding Players Mid-Session: When a late player is added to the roster, the system creates a new scoring row for that player without touching existing rows.
- Preserving Scored Rows: Removing a player from the roster deletes empty, unscored rows, but any row that already has a recorded score is permanently retained.
One-Sided Scoring Mechanics
Because players are practicing drills rather than competing against an opponent across the net, score entry is strictly one-sided:
| Scoring Parameter | Behavior | Rule Description |
|---|---|---|
| Team 1 Score | Required | Stores the player's drill performance score (e.g., target hits, consecutive dinks). |
| Team 2 Score | Refused (null) |
Entering an opponent score returns a validation error; no opponent exists. |
| Completion Check | Single Score Test | A drill game is marked complete when Team 1 score is present; does not wait for a second score. |
Gameplay Modifiers & Point Adjustments
Coaches can configure custom constraints on the event (such as \"Backhand Only\" or \"Third Shot Drops\"):
- Modifier Multipliers: Organizers can define bonus points per successful drill repetition.
- Per-Player Overrides: Point values can be customized per player to handicap advanced trainees.
- Formula: Standings calculate as
SUM(effective_points) × games_played, displayed directly on the clinic results board.
Next Step
To create a coaching clinic or practice session, navigate to Events and select Group Drill from the format options.